Today’s announcement of social impact bonds is one of the best things that the
government has done. These bonds offer a chance to deal with some of this country’s most difficult social problems at no cost and no risk to the taxpayer.
The bonds see money raised from the private and voluntary sectors to fund local government’s work with problem families. The idea is that the bond holders earn their money back and some through the savings made by sorting the lives of these households out. Considering that close to £100,000 a year is spent on some of these families, the opportunities here are considerable.
At the moment, only ‘social investors’ are involved in this project. But, as Iain Duncan-Smith told The Spectator earlier this month, there’s no reason why these bonds shouldn’t become a normal part of the financial marketplace to the benefit of society.
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